A Winter's Tale
by Rollieo 122
Summary: Christmas is one of the most difficult times to be alone, as Leon is finding.


**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own The Bill; it belongs to ITV. I also don't own the song, which is 'A Winter's Tale'; it belongs to David Essex. I'm only borrowing them for a bit, and they will be returned completely unscathed in the condition I found them in.**

**_Author's Note:_ New story, mainly centred around Leon. Hope you like it!**

**A Winter's Tale**

Leon shivered. He had been standing in the doorway of his house, the front door wide open, for quite a while now. He went inside, closed the door and took off his shoes and jacket, before going to his room and getting ready for bed.

_**The nights are colder no**__**w  
Maybe I should close the door**_

It had been snowing quite a lot in Sun Hill recently, which was partly why he felt so cold, but he was also cold because he had been trudging around in the snow for a few hours now, on a search that was completely pointless, as the most recent snow shower had covered the footsteps of the woman he was meant to be chasing.

_**And**__** anyway the snow has covered all your footsteps  
And I can follow you no more**_

That night, he tried so hard to sleep, but despite the fact that he had been inside in the warmth and wearing a ridiculous amount of layers, he still felt extremely cold. He went downstairs into his kitchen, put the kettle on, and while he was waiting for it to boil, he went into his living room, lit the wood which was sitting in the fireplace and watched the flames, before making a cup of tea and returning to sit in front of the fire, reminiscing about things that he had done.

_**T**__**he fire still burns at night  
My memories are warm and clear  
**_

"_I'm so sorry, Leon, but we can't… I can't do this anymore… I'm sorry…"_ Those were the last words she had said, before turning around and walking away, and out of his life.

He was lonely now. Christmas was meant to be a time for doing things together with the ones you love, but that had been taken away from him. Sure, he had been invited to many parties, but he couldn't face going. Not without her being there with him.

_**B**__**ut everybody knows it's hard to be alone at this time of year**_

No matter how hard he tried, he could not get her out of his head. But then, he heard a song on the radio which he liked, and the lyrics of the chorus seemed to sum his thoughts up exactly.

_**It was only a winter's tale  
J**__**ust another winter's tale  
And why should the world take notice  
Of one more love that's failed?  
**_

Before she had left, she had also said that what they had was a bit of fun, and it could never be anything more than that, and even if it was more, it wouldn't have worked anyway. She had also said that he meant a lot to her, but, looking back, he doubted that now.

_**A**__** love that could never be  
Though it meant a lot to you and me  
On a world wide scale we're just another winter's tale**_

It was snowing again. He was sat on the swings in the park, wearing only his thin uniform shirt: it had been his lunch break, so he wasn't wearing his vest, and he was wearing his gloves, but he couldn't find his jacket anywhere. Maybe he'd left it at home. He could hear the bells of the church chiming – it was quarter to 2. He thought that maybe he should be getting back to work as his break had technically ended 25 minutes ago, but he was quite happy sitting where he was, though he was absolutely freezing.

_**While I stand alone  
A**__** bell is ringing far away**_

Nearly 15 minutes later, he started walking back to the station, wondering if she heard the chimes of the clock which were quarter-hourly. He knew that when he arrived back at the station, he was going to get a proper roasting from the Inspector, but he didn't mind. He had only wanted some time on his own to think.

_**I wonder if you hear, I wonder if you're listenin**__**g  
I wonder where you are today**_

The next morning, he woke up lying on the floor of his living room, having fallen asleep in front of the fire. He stretched out, his hand coming into contact with a mug that was on the floor and knocking it over. He stood up and yawned, before picking up the mug. At least it had been empty. He took it to the kitchen where he put it in the sink, then went back into the living room and sat on one of the sofas.

It had now been three days since he had been sent home from work after sitting outside in the cold not wearing many layers and giving himself a fever. As soon as he had returned to the station, he was told that the Inspector wanted to see him, as he had expected, but as soon as she saw him, she sent him to the FME as he was clearly not well. He had been signed off work for 10 days by the FME and promptly sent home. At least for now he had been spared that roasting which he was sure to get.

But there was only so much daytime television a man could watch, and now he was bored. Then he had an idea. He went and grabbed some paper and a pen, relit the fire, and started writing a letter in front of the warmth of the fire.

_**Good**__** luck, I wish you well  
For all that wishes may be worth  
I hope that love and strength  
**__**Are with you for the length of your time on Earth**_

At last, his 10 days off was over, and he had recovered fully. He walked back into the station, just in time to be dragged straight back out again by a mob of the rest of the relief heading out to a bar for the Christmas party.

The drinks poured in throughout the evening, and everyone else was steadily becoming even more drunk by the hour. But he was the only one who was still relatively sober, having not drunk very much all evening.

Towards the end of the evening, a karaoke competition started between the remaining members of the relief who hadn't gone home. He had to admit, some of the brave souls who attempted the competition were actually quite good despite being drunk, and some were absolutely terrible. Then it was his turn.

He stepped onto the stage and selected his song: one of his favourites, and started singing. It was when he got to the chorus that he really started to enjoy the song.

_**It was only a winter's tale  
J**__**ust another winter's tale  
And why should the world take notice  
Of one more love that's failed?  
**__**It's a**__** love that could never be  
Though it meant a lot to you and me  
On a world wide scale we're just another winter's tale**_

Everyone who remained watched in amazement as he stood on the stage singing the song that he had chosen. No-one knew that he had such a good singing voice, as he preferred to keep things like that to himself. As he carried on singing, everyone forgot about any troubles they had and how drunk they were and continued watching him, completely drawn in.

_**It was only a winter's tale  
J**__**ust another winter's tale  
And why should the world take notice  
Of one more love that's failed?  
**__**It's a love that could never be  
Though it meant a lot to you and me  
**_

As the song finished, he stepped down from the stage to a huge round of applause. He blushed, embarrassed at the attention he was getting, but he did feel that it had been worth his while going to this party, especially as everyone had decided that he should be the winner of the karaoke competition. They thought that he deserved it, after all.

_**O**__**n a world wide scale we're just another winter's tale**_


End file.
